'Lady bro' credited for tampon changes at Calgary airport after Reddit post goes viral

A viral post about a $15 box of tampons sold at the Calgary International Airport led to some changes in the ladies room over the weekend.

Carlee Field was waiting for a flight from Calgary to Vancouver last month when she stopped to use the bathroom in the terminal.

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Inside, she saw a box of tampons with a note that said all of the machines were empty and that it had been necessary to buy a $15 box from the Relay shop.

The box of tamponsshown in the photo can be purchased at Walmartfor $3.97.

The unsigned note's author said the price mark-up was unacceptable and invited others to take a tampon if they needed one.

"Lady bro in the bathroom of the Calgary Airport! I appreciate you!" Field posted a photo on the social media siteReddit.

The image was widely shared, with many tagging on sentiments such as anonymous person behind the tampon donationwas "the hero we need."

Shortly after, the airport authority wrote that the machines had been refilled and the price at Relay had been lowered to $6.25.

It was received with mixed reviews online.

"Awesome! Nice to see some actions take place," said one post.

"It really shouldn'thave taken you this embarrassment to do so. Perhaps be more decent towards your customers and keep what happened in mind," said another post.

Price can be more shocking up north

While the incidentelicited shock online,it's common for feminine hygiene products to cost that much or more in many remote northern communities.

Moon Time Sisters, a group that collects feminine hygiene products to donate to communities in northern Ontario and Saskatchewan, says a box of tampons can cost $19 in areas where Indigenous women are often struggling with unemployment and low incomes.

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Founder Nicole White said she started the project after hearing about girls in northern Saskatchewan who were missing school during their periods. She said she has heard of women using used socks to absorb menstrual blood when they can't afford pads and tampons.

"That is something that's unacceptable to me," she said.

"If you're a person who's living under the poverty line, feminine hygiene products are seen as a luxury."

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